


You're A Prick!

by duskblue, wolfdancer333



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Why Did I Write This?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-14 08:11:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14131860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duskblue/pseuds/duskblue, https://archiveofourown.org/users/wolfdancer333/pseuds/wolfdancer333
Summary: “Wow, you’re a prick.”“I already knew that, but thanks for shooting me in the heart and leaving me for dead.”





	You're A Prick!

**Author's Note:**

> Collaboration Prompt Number 2 with Duskblue!! These are coming along great and I enjoy writing them with this wonderful artist and writer! :) Let the Broppy flow man! (I’m sorry there’s so much Broppy, I don’t mind any other ship really but it’s just….I can’t write anything else! I’m burning with this ship man, someone save me!)

The rhythmic chatter, the beep of the scanner, and the sound of the moving conveyor belt all helped to give Poppy a headache. Usually she was all smiles and cupcakes and rainbows….But not today. Today was a gray day. Today, she felt worthless and powerless standing in the supermarket line, awaiting her turn to pay for her meagre groceries she sure as hell didn’t make enough money to afford all the time. She looked at the assortment of food with tired, pink eyes.

Gummy bears, pancake-mix, sprinkles, edible glitter, pasta, spaghetti sauce, three tubs of ice cream, and the most important: the baby food. She dragged her tired eyes to the source of her bags beneath her eyes. There he sat, the little cupcake! Seeing the little boy caused a happy smile to stretch her lips. No matter how tired she was, no matter how long of shifts she had to work, this boy was worth it all and made everyday worth it.

He got a lot of attention when he was born – not so much now since Poppy lived and breathed her small town of Troll Village – due to his unusually glittery skin and white hair. He was babbling away in the cart and playing with one of those old Troll dolls her Dad had found in the attic - “Hey Poppy! Look what I found, isn’t it cute?” He banged it’s little body into the cart and looked up at her with a wide grin. She smiled back and ran a hand through his fuzzy hair.

He giggled. As she rolled the cart forward, she glanced down to see how far back she was. She began to bounce and hum a tune as she realized she wasn’t too far away now! Two more people ahead of her! Then she could go home, make dinner, and just relax. Her smile brightened at the thought. As the line moved forward again, she looked to see who the cashier was. Instantly, she felt panic run through her.

Who is this man!? Why don’t I know him? Where did he come from? Poppy’s muddled thoughts became frantic. She knew EVERYBODY in Troll Village, but she did NOT know this strange cashier who was ringing up groceries. He was gorgeous. Thick, wavy black hair and ice blue eyes. A large nose accentuated his narrow jaw and high cheekbones. He was muscular – that black v-neck really showed off his muscles she thought with a deep red blush – yet oddly lean. He was wearing the black v-neck and fitted blue jeans.

Poppy hadn’t realized she was staring until his eyes met hers. And he glared. Poppy recoiled, unsure as to what she did to incite the harsh look. She looked around, seeing if someone else was the victim, but when she looked back the look was still there. His scowl deepened.

The woman ahead of her, a large round woman with crazy large – Poppy so loved that hair! - red hair with white streaks, looked between the two with her eyes as she bagged her groceries. Poppy pushed a stray strand of her messy hair behind her ear and bit her lip. What did she do to make him so mad? As the woman left, shooting glances back at them, Poppy moved forward and with dread she realized she was the only one left in this line.

The others seemed to be avoiding it and Poppy swallowed. Did anyone know this guy? And was he mean to all of them? She started shakily putting her items on the belt and the guy huffed. “Can you move any quicker? Can’t you see I got a lot of fucking things to do?”

Poppy paused, setting the spaghetti sauce down with a small slam. Nope. Gray Poppy had had enough. This week had been-been-not cupcakes and rainbows! She was not going to let this man make it worse. Taking a deep breath, Poppy looked him in the eye and told him, “I’m a customer. Treat me better and I’ll do what you say. Keep the attitude cause I can stand here all night.”

That’s when her son, innocent little thing she cooed inwardly, started to realize this man was being mean to his mommy…..And promptly burst out into little sobs. Poppy had the pleasure of seeing the guy’s ice blue eyes widen before he gestured to the baby, looking around, “Shut that thing up!”

“Thing!? That’s my son, Guy!” She reached over to give Guy her hand, who, fascinated by his mother, giggled and gurgled at it.

“Wha-? Huh….? Who the fuck names their son Guy?”

“I did, not that it’s any of your business!”

Their whispers were quiet but she could still see people glancing at them and the hostile environment. Poppy was never like this, she never argued, she never –

But she had been a happy, stupid woman and now she knew that life wasn’t all cupcakes and rainbows any more. She’d grown up now. And this guy was acting like a child with his crossed arms, hardened eyes, and that scowl. This put Poppy in more of a gray mood than before.

“Just ring up my groceries so I can go home?”

The guy’s name-tag read Branch with a scribbled black note below reading, ‘The Asshole’ and Poppy whole-heartedly agreed. But just as quickly as it came, the anger bled out and left a hollow ache she had pushed back for far too long. She tried to hold the warmth in her eyes back as Branch grumbled, scanning her items, but she must have sniffled because a moment later, he was rolling his eyes at her.

“Drama queen.”

Those words. Those words did it. They repeated in her mind like a mantra and she felt the memories claw at her heart. His face, his aqua eyes, and the cyan hair as he had walked out on her and their crying son. As he shouted at her, _“You’re a drama queen, Poppy! And-And I just can’t do it any more!”_ and shrugged open the door, not once looking back. Even though she hadn’t asked for the baby, had asked Creek to please please please wrap it up. He assured her.

And then she had found out he had lied about it. And at first, it had been simple. This was Creek! She loved him and he loved her! They could get back up again, together! But then she had found out she was pregnant. And that had been good too! Sometimes. When he wasn’t staring at his phone and never her. Or drinking. Creek had never harmed her, they had been good friends, but he had stopped loving her. And that is what broke her.

When their son had been born, Creek hadn’t been there. Poppy had screamed, pleaded, and cried. She wanted Creek! But he hadn’t been there. Hours later, her son in her arms, he came in and they both knew their lives had changed. For Poppy, it was get a job when Creek had to quit for drinking on his. It was dirty diapers and throw up and a loneliness while sleeping in the same bed as her boyfriend. She didn’t know when her hair had dulled to a barely visible pink. Or when her eyes stopped shining. Or her cheeks didn’t glitter. Or she had stopped being Poppy.

She had asked him to love her and he had called her a drama queen, walking out and leaving her with their 2 year old son who was now 2 years and 4 months. She had searched, asked, begged for him, to find him, to ask him why. She never found him. And now, this gray cashier ringing her groceries hated her too. It was too much for Poppy and she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. She pulled him until their noses were almost touching and she told him, deadly quiet and with tears in her eyes, “You are a prick.”

Her voice cracked a moment but when she let go of him, Branch’s face was oddly devoid of anything as he casually, sarcastically told her, “I already knew that, but thanks for shooting me in the heart and leaving me for dead.”

He simply scanned the groceries and she wasn’t sure but she could have sworn she saw him toss a coloured wrapper into her bag but then thought she was just being a drama queen again with a roll of her eyes. She went to her son and picked him up, Guy giggling at his mom happily. She smiled, relieved at least her son still loved her, and held him on her hip with one arm as she waited for her order.

As soon as the numbers tacked up, Poppy threw the money at Branch who glared before he told her, “This is too much. Can’t you count?”

Poppy was devoid of emotion, tired and worn out from today, from life. “Keep it. Maybe it can pay for your attitude adjustment.”

She got to see his jaw go slack as he made unintelligible noises before she grabbed her bag and hurried from the store with tears in her eyes and gray in her heart. It wasn’t until she got home, the bag emptied on the counter, that she found it. The colourful wrapped candy that Branch had tossed in. She hadn’t paid for it.

For the first time in months, Poppy felt like Poppy when she smiled and gave the candy to her son, whispering, “Maybe he’s not a grumpy gray Troll like me after all.”

 

She came back. Not everyday but most days when she had free time. Sometimes she did it to annoy Branch. Others she wanted to see what he was truly like – she still didn’t know him and that was unacceptable! He usually threatened to kick her out but she made sure to always buy one single item so he had to tend to her as a customer. Their banter, though sometimes either left her in tears or left him in anger punching a wall in the back, had become friendlier.

And the most shocking thing being that Guy absolutely loved him. Adored the ground the pessimistic man walked on. Every time Guy saw him, the little baby was holding his arms out and wiggling to get to him, making an odd noise that sounded suspiciously like Branch’s name. He would deny it, glare at Guy who would screech with giggles, and then stomp off to do his job. But Poppy had been coming in often and she had begun to notice things.

He wasn’t an asshole. Well, he was, but he projected that persona outwards. She had seen him be rude and mean and grumpy. But then she remembered the candy and saw different sides to him. He had a grandma who always dropped off his lunch – and it was the only time Poppy ever saw a heartfelt smile on his face. She would hand him his paper bag, kiss his cheek, and was gone in a flurry of laughter. Poppy liked her.

She got to see the way he loved his job, took it seriously even though it was minimum wage. She saw the way he teased Guy when he thought she wasn’t looking. She saw his anxiety and she knew he suffered from a deep pain. But the things Poppy didn’t notice was the way her pink hair had brightened, washing away the gray. She didn’t see the way her eyes brightened or her smile beamed. She didn’t see the way her cheeks sparkled or that she was finally shining in her true colours again.

She especially didn’t notice the eyes that watched her laughing at Branch holding Guy, the child blowing a raspberry in his face. Branch had been trying to get him to stop but Guy persisted until Poppy had stepped in. Guy had other plans. Seeing his mom lean in to grab him, he wanted the people he loved most to hug too! So, their cheeks pressed together, the two were pulled into a rather forceful hug by a 2 year old. They had awkwardly laughed about it and shrugged it off but the watchful eyes couldn’t let it go.

She was there now, browsing with Branch beside her as he stocked the shelves opposite her. Guy was with her Dad today and it felt good to have a day to herself.

“I’m gonna go pick out some cooking wine!”

Branch looked up at her with an exasperated grin. “Poppy, this is a store. You don’t have to tell me where you’re going.”

Poppy bit her lip and bounced on her feet. “But if I don’t tell you…..” Right before she disappeared around the shelf corner she teasingly sang, “How will you know to miss me?”

She giggled as she ducked out of the aisle, leaving behind a cursing Branch. She put her hands behind her back and skipped towards the section she needed – Aisle 6, last shelf on the right – and froze. The alcohol section was in front of Aisle 6. And in front of the alcohol section was cyan hair and familiar yellow pants. She must have stepped back because his eyes flashed to hers and she winced at the stubble on his jaw, the bags under his eyes. He hadn’t quit drinking. And he was now moving towards her. Poppy’s only thought was Branch but before she could run back to his safe presence – “Safety is the number one rule, Poppy! Don’t run on the wet floors, idiot!” – a hand grabbed her arm and held her there.

“Now, is that anyway to greet the father of your child, love?”

Poppy was scared. This Creek wasn’t the Creek she knew, the happy Creek from her childhood. The peaceful, meditating yogi who always had the best advice. This was a darker Creek. This was the Creek who had been texting a girl named Chef things she would never have the guts to do. This was the Creek who left her, she was sure, for that same woman he called Chef in his phone. And she hated that tears brimmed in her eyes for the Creek she had lost.

“Let go of me Creek!”

Creek didn’t. Instead he squeezed tighter and Poppy let out a cry of pain. He was hurting her. Her Creek would never hurt her! But he had never truly been hers, had he? “Where is he?”

Poppy stopped struggling a minute in her confusion. “Huh, who?”

The anger in his eyes made Poppy lift a trembling hand to try and pry Creek off her arm. “Our son! Our son, Poppy, dear. Where is he!?”

Poppy felt the tears running down her face now as she felt full on fearful panic. “My Dad! Why?”

Creek leaned closer and Poppy could smell the alcohol. “He’s not with that man you’ve been whoring around with, love? You wouldn’t lie to me would you?”

Poppy paled and tried to move backwards, Creek in tow, but he didn’t budge. She just needed to get Branch’s attention. If she got close enough, she knew his hearing was really good and he would hear her. “I-I’m not lying….He’s with my Dad, listen, if you –“

Poppy’s head reeled from the force of the smack that echoed down the aisles. She had heard her involuntary cry but could only look to Creek with a painful fear in her eyes. He had hit her. He seemed to realize this too as his eyes widened and he looked at his own hand in shock.

But Creek wasn’t the only one who realized what he had done. It was eerily quiet for a second before all hell broke loose around her. One minute Creek was there, standing, looking as if he hated what he had done. The next? He was tackled to the ground by a black haired blur, fists flying. When she saw him Poppy let out a cry of relief and fell to her knees. He was there, Branch had saved her. But he was currently rolling on the ground with her ex and both men were throwing punches and curses at one another.

All she could see was Branch sitting atop Creek, the yogi’s shocked face completely morphed into a pained desperation as Branch threw fist after fist. But Creek wasn’t exactly a bad fighter and he landed a few blows into Branch’s stomach, winding the man long enough for Creek to flip him off. But Branch didn’t give him any sort of time to go for her and grabbed Creek’s shirt to bash his head against the floor in a single motion. This brought on a torrent of anger between the two as they flew at each other again, Creek landing a couple of strong hits into Branch’s stomach.

Poppy had never seen a fight like this and she was beginning to get worried, especially seeing Branch beginning to flinch. And then the fight took a turn as Branch slammed Creek into the floor and was finally able to throw hit after hit into his nose and jaw.

Afraid of what would happen to Branch if he didn’t stop, Poppy shouted, “Branch!”

Like she had summoned him, he was rolling around on the ground one minute and the next he was kneeling right in front of her, her cheeks in his hands, and his eyes looking into hers. He seemed to be satisfied with what he saw because he then scanned her with his eyes. When they fell on her right cheek, she saw him visibly wince. The pain she saw in those eyes is what caused Poppy to do what she did – she would later blame the adrenaline.

But she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. It was soft and chaste but it sparked a fire in her and when she felt his hands twitch on her cheeks, she smiled into the press of their lips. Branch tore away with a scowl and Poppy blinked at the sudden moment disappearing. He spun his head back to Creek on the floor, still staring at that hand that had smacked her.

“Get me away from him Poppy or I’ll kill him.”

And she didn’t doubt that by the way his eyes hardened or his voice dropped that he would kill him. As he led her away from Creek, towards the back of the store to tell his manager, Poppy smiled. What does gray and gray make? Cupcakes and rainbows!

 

 

BONUS:

Years later, the two of them would be standing by the middle school’s auditorium doors as they watched Guy practice on stage with his drama friends. She was snuggled into Branch’s side, her cheek pressed against his chest as she watched their son – “Your son.” “Our son. Don’t fight it.” – perform. He was a natural and she felt Branch’s pride. Feeling how lucky she truly was, Poppy wrapped a loose arm around his back to hold him tighter and he glanced down at her, “Ease up there, if I wanted to run, I wouldn’t have a collar!”

He held up his left hand where a glittering silver band gleamed in the dim lights and Poppy grinned. “You’re a prick.”

He remembered. Because he leaned down to whisper to her, “I already knew that. But thanks for loving and marrying me anyway.”

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, open to any and all criticism as long as it is constructive and polite! :)


End file.
